Sofa beds for small spaces: how to choose one you will use every day
A sofa bed has two jobs, and most people only test one of them in the shop. This guide covers how to pick one that is comfortable to sit on every day and easy to turn into a bed – especially when space is tight.
1. Decide how often it will be a bed
- A few nights a year (guests at Christmas, a friend after a party): choose the sofa you like sitting on most. Sleeping comfort matters less than everyday comfort.
- Every week or every night (a studio, a teenager’s room, a share house): look for a flat, even sleeping surface with no bars or gaps, and covers you can take off and wash.
2. Measure the room twice – once as a sofa, once as a bed
Most sofa beds grow forwards when they open. Measure the space in front of the sofa as well as the wall, and leave room to walk around the bed. Mark both footprints on the floor with masking tape. Our size guide lists every model’s dimensions.
| Room | What usually fits |
|---|---|
| Studio or small apartment lounge | A 1.5m sofa bed, or a compact corner |
| Spare room or study | A 2m sofa bed that becomes a guest bed |
| Family lounge room | An L-shaped corner sofa bed for seating and a big guest bed |
3. Mechanism or no mechanism?
Traditional sofa beds hide a folding metal frame and a thin mattress inside the sofa. They can be comfortable, but they are heavy, the mechanism can jam or squeak, and the mattress is often thin because it has to fold.
Foam sofa beds with no mechanism work differently: you lay the cushions out flat to make the bed. There is nothing to break, they are much lighter to move, and they usually arrive compressed in a box – handy for apartments with narrow stairs. The trade-off is that you rearrange cushions instead of pulling a handle.
4. Check the covers
A sofa bed gets more wear than a normal sofa: sheets, pillows, kids, pets. Zip-off covers you can wash, and the option to buy a replacement cover later, make a big difference to how long it looks good. Corduroy is a good choice for daily use because the ribs hide marks well – see our corduroy guide.
5. Budget: what does under $1,000 get you?
At under $1,000 you can get a comfortable, well-made sofa bed, as long as you skip the showroom mark-up. For example, the Nova Sofa Bed is $960 for the 2m size and $840 for the 1.5m size, with zip-off corduroy covers and a 3-year warranty. Add delivery, which is calculated by weight and state at checkout (see delivery costs).
6. Delivery time
If you need it by a certain date – a guest arriving, a new lease – check whether your colour is in stock. In-stock colours of the Nova Sofa Bed (Thyme and Coal, 2m) leave our Melbourne warehouse within 2 business days; made-to-order colours take about 3–7 weeks before dispatch, then transit time to your city.
Quick checklist
- How often will someone sleep on it?
- Does it fit the room as a sofa and as a bed?
- Will it fit through the door and up the stairs?
- Can you wash or replace the covers?
- What is the warranty?
- Is your colour in stock if you need it soon?
Ready to look? Browse all sofa beds or the Nova range. Still unsure? Email support@ozsofa.com with your room size.